A Grey Squirrel Is Twice As Fast As The 14 Bus
Recently released figures show local bus is the second slowest in the capital
A recent report has shown that bus route 14, Putney Heath to Warren Street station has an average speed between 5.4-6.9mph making it the second slowest service in the capital.
In the survey by Transport to London (TfL) only the No 15 bus which travels at an average speed of 5mph was slower. In comparison London wide the average bus speed is between 9-9.6mph. A grey squirrel has a top running speed of 12.4mph.
The fastest bus moving through Putney is the 265 which is consistently in double figures with a high of 14.8mph and a low of 13.1mph.
| Route (both directions) |
Slowest speed mph |
Fastest speed mph |
| 14 | 5.4 |
6.9 |
| 22 | 6.4 |
7.9 |
| 37 | 8.1 |
8.7 |
| 39 | 9.4 |
10.5 |
| 74 | 7.3 |
8.0 |
| 85 | 10.2 |
11.1 |
| 93 | 9.8 |
10.6 |
| 220 | 7.1 |
8.5 |
| 265 | 13.1 |
14.8 |
| 270 | 8.0 |
9.1 |
| 337 | 8.6 |
9.8 |
| 424 | 7.6 |
13.0 |
Unsurprisingly the night buses proved faster than the day route, with the 14 still remaining the slowest and the N93 to & from North Cheam & Putney being the fastest:
| Route (both directions) |
Slowest speed mph |
Fastest speed mph |
| N14 | 10.3 |
11.7 |
| N22 | 15.2 |
16.0 |
| N37 | 13.7 |
14.4 |
| N74 | 14.0 |
14.5 |
| N85 | 15.9 |
16.9 |
| N93 | 16.8 |
18.2 |
| N220 | 13.6 |
14.3 |
A spokesperson from TfL told this website that Putney buses passing through central London would be adversely affected by congestion, roadworks etc when compared to routes that travel in Outer London. The TfL website states:"Further measures have been introduced to protect service reliability against disruption from a series of major roadworks in Central and Inner London and from a wider deterioration in traffic congestion. Punctuality of low-frequency services also deteriorated compared a year ago due to an adverse trend in operating conditions in Outer London.
Stephen Locke, chair of watchdog London TravelWatch said:‘The recent deterioration in bus performance is now affecting many people's lives - with longer waiting times and longer journey times making it harder than ever to get round on the capital's bus network. Not surprisingly, some passengers are abandoning bus services altogether. If some of them end up traveling by car, this will increase congestion still further.”
February 25, 2016